Saint Sebastian Bound to the Column

probably 1498/1499

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

The image shows a full-length view of a male figure standing against a stone pillar. He has an athletic build, is mostly unclothed except for a cloth around his waist, and his arms are bound behind his back. His torso and upper legs are pierced by three arrows. The man has high cheekbones, a prominent nose, slightly parted lips, and shoulder-length curly hair. There is no visible jewelry or objects in his hands. The background shows a natural setting with tall grass and a rock formation to the right, appearing to be in a desolate area with sparse vegetation. Engraved markings and a signature-like inscription are near the stone pillar on the left.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 10.9 x 7.9 cm (4 5/16 x 3 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3476

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 61, state i/ii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

unidentified collector (Lugt 365); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1929

  • Engravings by Albrecht Durer from the collection of Lessing J. Rosenwald of Philadelphia, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1929, no.

1999

  • Fate, Fortune, Nemesis: Albrecht Durer at the Century's End, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, 1999.

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 1: no. 25.

Inscriptions

in plate, lower left, on sheet: AD [artist's monogram]; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: 60; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: C.11352; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B56 [underlined]; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: gi [?]; verso, lower right, in graphite by a later hand: MA [underlined] / MJ [?]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: 31 [upside down]; verso, lower left, in graphite by a later hand: YD [?]; verso, lower center, in graphite by a later hand: B56

Markings

FB 1602 (Lugt 365), verso, in graphite

Watermarks

unidentified bulbous cruciform

Wikidata ID

Q7402165

You may be interested in

Loading Results